Friday, July 28th, 2023

Good morning everyone,

Welcome to the second week of the (A)Political Newsletter. Some kinks are being worked out, as was the process with the Atlas Newsletter, but rest assured, our primary focus is to improve this to properly lay out the happenings in D.C. and the election season for you in an unbiased manner. Please be sure to leave a review at the end of this newsletter so we can continue to improve. The remarks last week were both extremely helpful and highly appreciated. The newsletter may have variations, week to week, seeing as polling updates are not necessary weekly and certain events may take precedence. This week you will notice our addition of Congressional stock trading, something we view as a fantastic indicator of many things.

Now, let’s get to the news. It’s been an eventful week for the top candidates as President Biden deals with fallout from his son’s business dealings, congressional inquiries, and a complicated court case. Trump continues to be investigated thoroughly, and some of the low-polling candidates begin to sound off as the country prepares for the debates to take place in August.

In today’s edition:

• Ron DeSantis’ campaign shakes up

• Hunter Biden plea deal falls through

• Biden sets his sight on North Carolina

You can see our statement about being unbiased at the bottom of this newsletter.

THIS WEEK’S POLLING UPDATE

Not Much Change as Trump Dominates Republican Primary

The polls really haven’t seen substantial movement recently, with Biden just leading Trump and Trump leading the Republican primary by a large margin. Biden is also leading Robert F. Kennedy Jr. among Democratic voters. Upcoming movements in the DeSantis campaign and Trump’s court battles are not likely to yield major changes.

CONGRESSIONAL STOCK WATCHER

• Representative Michael McCaul has disclosed sales of up to $500K of Meta Platforms stock, $META.

  • McCaul is the chair of the Congressional Artificial Intelligence Caucus

  • Member of the Congressional High Tech Caucus.

• Senator Gillibrand and Senator Hawley just formally offered their bill to ban congressional trading.

  • Half the Senate have said they support the legislation.

  • Until a standalone vote happens, we won’t know if they are telling the truth. We imagine a standalone vote is far away.

• Representative Daniel Goldman sold stock in PacWest Bank on 3/06.

  • A week later, the bank crisis hit and the stock fell over 60%

  • It is now plunging further on reports that $PACW is in talks to be sold to $BANC.

• Four members of Congress have sold Verizon stock recently.

  • This includes Senator John Hickenlooper, who sits on the Senate Subcommittee on Communications, Media, and Broadband.

  • Verizon stock is down 8% in the last month

Representative Nancy Pelosi's trading strategy has seen a remarkable 56% increase this year. Notably, she has already earned nearly 100 times her annual congressional salary from her investment portfolio. It is worth mentioning that last year, Pelosi impeded efforts to prohibit congressional trading.

The DeSantis Reboot Continues Amid Campaign Struggles

July 27, 2023: Ron DeSantis’ struggling campaign continues to implement course corrections as it heads into the August 2023 debate. This week has seen tough headlines for his campaign, as DeSantis continues to be beset with a litany of internal errors. In order to cut down on a bloated campaign budget and grapple with the low amount of funding supporting it, DeSantis has had to fire 38 campaign staffers, Politico reported. Many of these staffers will be rerouted to the pro-DeSantis PAC, Never Back Down, as a way to keep supporting the run without damaging the campaign’s direct financials.

However, DeSantis stepped into further controversy with new Florida legislation. Major outlets have produced headlines covering Florida legislation that mandates teaching that slaves "developed skills that, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit." The legislation, introduced in order to counter Critical Race Theory, has been extremely controversial with both Democrats and Republicans. As parents continue to criticize school boards nationwide, DeSantis, as governor of Florida, has long sought to change the curriculum. However, much of what he has so far introduced has suffered from poor optics and shortsightedness, allowing the media and his political opponents to shred it publicly. Another recent example is the passing of the Parental Rights in Education Act, dubbed by critics as the notorious "Don't Say Gay Bill".

Also this week, a member of the campaign staff created and released a video using the sonnenrad, a symbol still in use by contemporary neo-Nazis. The campaign staffer was subsequently fired after news broke of the video, and while the campaign reports it as an accidental oversight, it has given further ammunition to his opponents. Worse yet, it seems his fellow Republicans have begun an onslaught, smelling the blood in the water. Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.) attacked DeSantis for the recent legislation, and former Vice President Mike Pence attacked him for recommending that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. be instituted as either the leader of the CDC or FDA. Kennedy Jr. has been openly anti-vaccine.

The DeSantis campaign hopes to shake up their party and correct the errors as they head into the debate season, a critical juncture where many suspect DeSantis will shine. However, much damage has been done to his reputation as a political heavyweight, so with his drop in the polls, it remains to be seen whether he can oust Trump from the main seat.

FROM THE LEFT

West Wing Democrats view DeSantis as weaker than Donald Trump, Rolling Stone reports. This is a stunning reversal from a few months ago, when Biden officials were planning for a DeSantis nomination and viewed him as a stronger candidate. Democrats condemned the legislation dealing with teaching slavery, with Vice President Kamala Harris saying that “[slavery] involved some of the worst examples of depriving people of humanity in our world.”

FROM THE RIGHT

Representative Byron Donalds (R-Fl.), a Black Republican, argued against the policy, which puts him in an awkward position because he initially supported DeSantis, the Governor of his home state. The criticism then had an immediate response from the DeSantis campaign, questioning Donald's loyalties and lumping him with Kamala Harris. The Trump campaign then continued its relentless attacks, with one staffer saying both 2024 and 2028 “[are] dead for him.” However, some Republican pundits, such as Fox New’s Greg Gutfeld and Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro have supported DeSantis.

Hunter Biden Plea Deal Falls Through

July 27th, 2023: A federal judge has denied Hunter Biden’s plea deal on tax and firearm-related charges. The proposed deal involved him pleading guilty to two tax charges and committing to stay drug-free and relinquish his right to own a firearm, thus avoiding a gun-related charge. Before the legal deadlines, Hunter Biden neglected to pay federal taxes amounting to approximately $1.1 million to $1.5 million. As a consequence, he was prepared to enter a guilty plea for two tax misdemeanors, with prosecutors concurring to propose a probationary sentence.

The issue is one the Biden administration desperately wishes to go away, so as to minimize the effect it will have on his 2024 campaign. Biden’s family, particularly his son Hunter, has been a major source of controversy, and his mishaps have been used to significant advantage by his political adversaries.

U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika refused to approve either the tax or the gun agreement, saying they contained "atypical provisions" and required further examination. Justice Department lawyers have not ruled out the potential for the president's son to face additional charges, which may pertain to his foreign lobbying activities. For a considerable time, the Justice Department has been conducting an investigation into whether Hunter Biden or the Ukrainian consulting firm, Burisma, which employed him, should have registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

Noreika granted a 30-day period for both parties to submit further information. Following this, Hunter Biden may choose to enter a guilty plea and finalize the negotiated agreements. However, if the judge rejects the proposed deal, it would probably lead to a court trial.

The White House announced that President Biden would not pardon Hunter Biden if that situation were to pass.

FROM THE LEFT

Democrats were quick to refer to the issue as political meddling, raising concerns over this being used as a weapon against President Biden. The Biden administration would want to see this settled as soon as possible while also appearing to be fair and accepting of justice, so as to improve the already scrutinized image of the elite political family. Senator Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) stated, “No one should interfere with this politically, ideologically, and let justice go forward.”

FROM THE RIGHT

Republicans have been critical of the plea deal from the beginning. They hope to capitalize on the controversy over what they say is corruption on behalf of the Biden family. Representative James Comer (R., Ky.), chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, said, “I’ve been saying for days that the judge should reject the plea deal. It’s obvious that the president’s son committed many more crimes than what he was charged by the U.S. attorney of Delaware.” He vowed to redouble his investigation into the President’s family business dealings.

Biden Attempts to Take North Carolina in 2024 Election

President Biden’s campaign is aiming to win North Carolina in the 2024 election, a task no Democratic President has done since Obama’s 2008 win of the state, per Politico.

Biden’s team views the state as winnable and could be the key to preventing a Republican win, as it provides a buffer that Republicans can use to invest in other swing states, such as Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. If the reliability of Republican North Carolina is switched to Democratic, then Republicans would struggle to find another state to compensate for the loss, having to focus much funding and energy into protecting North Carolina.

A Biden campaign strategy memo stated their intention to invest in the state because of its changing diversity and contentious abortion plan, which was a key to stopping a "Red Wave" in the 2022 midterm elections. Another reason is that the urban population, typically Democratic voters, is increasing their share of the overall vote every election cycle, and Biden wants to capitalize on it like he did with Arizona and Georgia in 2020, states that underwent the same demographic changes.

Those factors, combined with energized, new leadership under 25-year-old Democratic Party chair Anderson Clayton and a gubernatorial election where the Republican frontrunner, Mark Robinson, wants a complete ban on abortion and opposes same-sex marriage, show a potential victory for the now purple state.

• Terror attack in Damascus during Islamic holy event- Joshua Paulo

• Kim Jong Un meets with Russian Defense Minister - Matthew Dellinger

• Sam Bankman-Fried has campaign finance charges dropped - Stanford Nix

• New Zealander pilot still held by rebels in Papua New Guinea - Atlas

• Chinese foreign influence on the United States - TheFilthyAmerican

END OF NEWSLETTER

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